Kathy Parker
The town of Adair’s sewer project may go out for bids in May.
The federally mandated sewer upgrade has been in the planning stages for years. The cost is now up to $1.6 million. If the town does not complete the upgrade as prescribed by law, it could face fines of $10,000 per day.
Engineer Dwayne Henderson told the trustees at their regular meeting Monday the town is still on the list to be approved for a federal loan in May. He said it is possible the town can get 20 percent of the cost from a grant through the stimulus package. That would amount to some $300,000 and reduce the town’s payback time on the loan substantially.
Henderson said all the environmental data has been turned in to the Department of Environmental Quality, but the newest snag is
from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board which said the dike on the sewer pond must be raised one more foot above flood stage than the original plans.
“This will take $50,000 more dirt work,” Henderson said. He said the soil must come from the site which is in the flood plain. The fill cannot be brought from another site. This should not be a problem since the town is digging a lagoon.
Henderson said this detail will not hold up the loan, which should be approved at a May 12 meeting in Oklahoma City.
“So if the money is approved May 12, we can go out for bids the next day?” said Mayor Steve Hall.
Henderson said he didn’t see why not. In fact, he said many of these projects have already gone for bid before the money is approved. He continued this is a good time to be looking for contractors since not many projects are going out for bid.
The town raised water and sewer rates in February because it was a condition of the loan. “We had to be able to prove we can come up with $90,000 a year (to service the loan),” Hall said.
Two years ago, the town passed a one cent sales tax to devote to this project. Hall said in that time $128,000 has been collected.
“We collected $4,325 last month,” he said. Although that amount will help make the loan payments, it is not enough to satisfy the terms of the loan. Trustees had no choice but to raise the rates.
In other town business, Emergency Management Director Johnny Janzen said the new storm siren is functional. He said some citizens on the east side of town told him after the first test it was not loud enough.
“This siren is really for outdoor use,” Janzen said. “They need to get a weather radio for inside.”
The new siren will be tested each Tuesday at noon. Trustees approved the purchase of a remote switch for the siren
at a cost of $445
from Northeast Okla-homa Rural Electric Cooperative. That way if no one is at the siren when it needs to sound, it can be triggered from another location.
Adair’s cleanup day will be May 30. Free dumpsters will be provided in town. Dog dips will be provided.
Trustee Johnny Terry will get prices on sealing the parking lot in front of town hall. “It’s getting some pretty big cracks and the water is going to get under there and cause problems,” Terry said.
Trustees approved stepping the employee retirement plan up to the next level. The plan had employees paying 4.5 percent of their salary in to the fund and the town paying 9.33 percent. On the new plan, the employee will contribute 5.25 percent and the town will contribute 8.48 percent.
Town Clerk Melissa Crawford will look for a second quote on recodification of the town’s code book. She got one estimate from an Enid company at $2,000. She said the company has done several surrounding towns’ recodification. Trustees asked Crawford to call other towns to see if they were happy with the work. Trent Peper asked her to get at least one more quote for comparison.
Fire Chief Craig Cooper reported 23 fire runs were made in March.
Animal control picked up one dog.
During public comments, Larry Eby asked about town speed limits. “Who’s the genius who came up with this 15 mile an hour speed zones in residential areas?”
Town attorney Cherie Meislahn said the limits were first adopted in the ‘70s to protect children at play.
“The council made this law and they can change it,” Eby said.
“But they haven’t chosen to do that,” Meislahn said. “It may not have been enforced before, but it was in place.”
“I’ve looked in other towns and 25 is the least I’ve seen,” Eby said. “I can go faster than 15 miles an hour on a bicycle and I’m 67 years old.”
